Leverage
by Onesmartcookie78
Summary: Rita wants to get out from underneath Hermione's thumb, and if she can connect her to the loss of one of Britain's greatest mind's intelligence, she'll hold the power. Slight Rita/Lockhart. One-shot.


Onesmartcookie78

**Summary**: Rita wants to get out from underneath Hermione's thumb, and if she can connect her to the loss of one of Britain's greatest mind's intelligence, she'll hold the power.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

* * *

_"Maybe it's love, sure I don't know_

_And I hardly know you and I don't wanna let you go"_

-"Chasing Rubies", Hudson Taylor

* * *

_"When a war ends, what does that look like exactly?"_

-_Sleeping_, Andrea Gibson

* * *

Rita Skeeter needed leverage. That little bitch, Hermione Granger, had unwittingly got on her bad side when she'd blackmailed the journalist with the knowledge that she was an unregistered animagi.

A little digging had unearthed one juicy little morsel that could be used in retaliation; during the wretch's second year at Hogwarts, a certain Gilderoy Lockhart (widely considered one of Britain's greatest minds) had gone off his rocker. Yes, he'd lost his head and was in St. Mungo's with a serious case of permanent amnesia. And if there was something mysterious and enigmatic with not enough media coverage and it had happened at Hogwarts, it was Dumbledore's doing. Dumbledore would only waste the effort on his favourite student though, so who did that leave? One guess.

Yeah, that's exactly right; Potter. And where _that_ brat was involved, Granger was sure to follow. The only issue with that conclusion was the less-than-supporting amount of evidence. Which is to say, she had _no_ evidence. It was completely circumstantial, perhaps even _less _than circumstantial. Actually, the term "conspiracy theory" may have fit better, what with her lack of anything truly incriminating.

The worst part was that Granger had been in the Hospital Wing during the full end of the year. She had only been restored from her state of paralysis on the last day of school. That was according to Pomfrey's meticulous records- you could ask how she got a hold of them, but it was ill-advised, for the continued propensity of your memory. How could Hermione be at fault though, if that was the reality?

The answer came in the form of the matron's looping scrawl on the aged parchment. You see, Granger had been clutching a mirror in one hand, and what was later said to be a piece of parchment in the other. The bit about the parchment had been added on a separate page at a later -though not by much- date from the looks of it (she had people for that), so what had been on the parchment? That was obvious to the nosey -yet determined- reporter. _Naturally_, there had been instructions for Potter and Weasley on what to do about Lockhart.

If she could have gotten a hand on the parchment, she wouldn't have to worry about this article (an exposé on the smug new war hero) but it had been disposed of.

Rita had come to a dead end. A blinding, infuriating, screeching halt in her path to revenge that had left her ranting and raving to anyone who would listen. In the end, her cat was the only one to actually pay attention- her mother had made it painfully clear that she hadn't appreciated the Howler.

Her only need was a delusional amnesiac currently residing in St. Mungo's. Rita let out an exasperated sigh; she wasn't looking forward to conversing with the madman, but hoped it wouldn't prove to be a complete waste of her time.

* * *

To be plain, it didn't. Prove to be a waste of time, that is. In fact, Rita planned to return to visit the poor man again tomorrow.

She didn't know how, or why, but somewhere in between her cautious "hello" and his tentative "hi" in response, she had become enamoured with Gilderoy. That is to say, Lockhart.

Her outfit that day was chosen with extreme care, as the blonde was more than a bit infatuated. Was it the golden locks? The charming smile? Or the naïveté of a man who does know how cruel the world is? Something about him was captivating, but Rita couldn't put her finger on it.

On the other side of the coin, she hadn't been able to wring any information from him. Whatever had wiped his memory -and she high suspected it to have been a powerful _Obliviate_- had destroyed any remnants of his past.

Whilst saddening for her and the state of her article, she couldn't help but feel terrible for Gilderoy. But she had more important things to worry about; like the fact that if she didn't wrap up this exposé, her career as journalist was over, and her on-the-side book writing was going to have to become permanent.

So she swore to herself that this would be her last visit to Gilderoy, and that it was for the stake of her occupation, nothing else. Did that make her a pathological liar?

"Rita! I didn't think I'd see you again!" Lockhart smiled dopily, putting down his copy of _Witch Weekly_ to grin at her properly. "What brings you here?"

"My article," she said without thinking, then retracted, wincing: "pretend I didn't say that."

Lockhart shrugged, "You know, I figured that someone as lovely as you had an ulterior motive for being here."

"Was it the reason you expected?"

"No, but I hope you'll continue to visit, regardless," Lockhart admitted. "No stop subtly prying and ask me what you want."

"Have you ever heard of Hermione Granger?"

"You mean the war hero?"

"Well, once upon a time..."


End file.
